SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/40933
Last fall many areas experienced drought conditions. Much of the seeded grass didn't develop, and people were put into a situation where they had to do some overseeding in the spring. A good guideline is to do all of the preparation early. The recovery from summer stress re- quires that any repair work be done as early as possible, and that the right amount of nutrients are applied to feed the plant during recupera- tive months of fall, which are more conducive for cool season grass growth. Fall is the time where the plant is building up its stored carbohy- drates in the crown, roots and rhizomes. Build it up in the fall to pro- tect it through the winter, and then in the spring again to protect it through the summer. When a plant goes dormant because of drought, it uses those stored carbohydrates to recover. If it doesn't have stored carbohydrates, it doesn't recover. Also, be mindful that the nutrient regime ties right in to your dis- ease-control regime. You need to have enough nitrogen present so turf can grow, but not so much that you are not pushing the disease. There- fore, use as much slow release nitrogen as you can. This will help pre- vent lush growth that is going to be more prone to disease activity. Some diseases are prone under low nitrogen; some are prone under high nitrogen. Summer diseases tend to be more active on high-nitro- gen soils. ST: What is the recommendation regarding contact products versus systemic products? Agnew:With Pythium diseases and brown patch diseases, a sys- temic fungicide is usually best. It can spread through the crown. It will protect from the inside out. A lot of times people will put a systemic with their contact in the application. The issue is that not all contacts can be used everywhere. For sports fields that have a higher variety of diseases, putting a con- tact on the turf is probably a good way to go to knock down diseases. But with the regulations, check the label. Labels have changed tremen- dously over the past 10 years. Research the label and the EPA regula- tions on it. ST: What are your thoughts regarding granular versus spray treat- ment, and spot versus blanket treatment? Agnew: Granular products are great for fertilizers, pre-emergent herbicides and soil insecticides. They work pretty much the same as liq- uids, though not all granular pesticide products are effective in particu- lar circumstances. Be sure to select a granular product that has an active ingredient that will control the target pest. For fungicides, liquid applications are generally better than granular. There are granular fungicides that are effective, that can move into the plant, move into the roots, and actually move up into the plant. These types of fungicides can be used as a spot treatment. Why fill up a sprayer to treat 1,000 square feet when a granular application may be just as effective? Always read and follow label directions before buying or using the types of products mentioned in this article. The directions contain im- portant conditions of sale, including limitations of warranty and rem- edy. ■ www.stma.org SportsTurf 29